Dakota Kai
Under the ring name Evie, Kai appeared on the 14 October 2015 episode of NXT, losing to the debuting Nia Jax. On 15 December 2016, she signed a contract with WWE, and few months later she was announced as a participant in the upcoming Mae Young Classic under the ring name Dakota Kai. Kai entered the tournament on 13 July, defeating Kavita Devi in the first round and Rhea Ripley in the second round, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Kairi Sane. On the 25 October 2017 episode of NXT, Kai made her television return competing in a battle royal, where she was eliminated by Sage Beckett. On the 14 March 2018 episode of NXT, Kai scored her first televised victory when she defeated Lacey Evans. A month later, Kai made her WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 34, competing along with several other NXT women in the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, becoming the first female New Zealander to compete at WrestleMania. Kai also participated in a WrestleMania Axxess tournament which she would go onto win, earning herself a match for the NXT Women's Championship but she was eventually defeated by newly crowned champion Shayna Baszler. In May, Kai earned herself another shot at the championship but was once again unsuccessful in capturing it. Throughout the rest of the year, Kai would continue to compete in singles competition, racking up various victories and losses against competitors like Santana Garrett, Bianca Belair, Lacey Evans, and Aliyah. In parallel to her actives in NXT, Kai also appeared in the newly created NXT UK brand. In October, Kai took part of the first ever all women's pay–per–view, Evolution, where she unsuccessfully challenged Rhea Ripley (in a dark match) for the NXT UK Women's Championship. Before the title match, Kai took part of a tournament (that was taped back in the summer but aired in November) for the vacant championship, where she defeated Nina Samuels in the first round but was eliminated in the semi finals by the eventual winner Ripley. After spending a few months away, Kai returned at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on 17 November, where she and Io Shirai helped Kairi Sane during her match with Shayna Baszler by attacking Baszler's allies Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir who would interfere earlier on. Shortly after the event, the trio would continue to feud with Baszler, Duke and Shafir in the following weeks. On January 17, 2019, Kai announced on her Twitter page that she sustained a torn ACL, during an NXT live event in December, which would sideline her from in–ring competition for the next few months. After over nine months of inactivity and a couple of vignettes, Kai defeated Taynara Conti on the 25 September episode of NXT in her in–ring return match. Shortly after, Kai's tag team partner, Tegan Nox, also returned to NXT and the two quickly reunited their tag team dubbed "Team Kick". On the 30 October episode of NXT, Team Kick unsuccessfully challenged The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. In November, Kai made her main roster debut as part of the NXT talent that were placed in an invasion angle with ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' as part of the Survivor Series pay-per-view. During that time, Kai was chosen over by Mia Yim as part of Rhea Ripley's team for the first ever women's WarGames match against Shayna Baszler's team. On November 23, at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, just before the match took place, Kai replaced Yim who was attacked backstage. Minutes later, before she entered the ring, Kai attacked her tag team partner, Tegan Nox, turning heel for the first time in her WWE career. Upon her return in December, Yim revealed that it was Kai who attacked her backstage and this led to a grudge match between the two, which Kai won. On the January 29 episode of NXT, Kai lost to Nox due to outside interfernce by Candice LeRae.Category:NXT Superstars